Sunderland boss Simon Grayson believes results have not done Leonid Slutsky’s Hull City side justice this season so far.

Following relegation from the Premier League last season, both sides have found wins hard to come by on their return to the Championship.

While the Black Cats have struggled to score at home and away, they are one point above the relegation zone, having picked up just one victory, a 3-1 success over Norwich City, a game that has contributed half of their goal tally.

However, Grayson is keen to stress how results can be deceiving.

The former Preston North End and Leeds United manager believes City have been unlucky so far this season, singling out the heavy Derby County defeat in particular.

Read More

The Tigers lost 5-0, but Grayson cites the penalty miss early in the game as a major turning point.

“I watched them last week against Derby, and it showed the fine margins in football,” Grayson said. “Seb Larsson missed a penalty at 1-0, and that changed the whole outlook of the game and they ended up losing 5-0. People will look at that scoreline and think that was a comfortable night for Derby, but Hull actually played well. They also played well against Fulham the other night and lost.

Allan McGregor and Michael Dawson of Hull City look dejected after conceding their side's second goal during the Championship match at Fulham

“They are similar to us in that they are a relegated team adjusting to life in the Championship, and it is never easy. They have lost a lot of key players and they have put a new group together.

“Whatever team we put out, we want to go out and get three points regardless of the opposition and whatever problems they might have had.”

Despite their position, Sunderland actually enjoyed a promising start to life in the second tier, going five games unbeaten in all competitions before a 2-0 defeat to Leeds brought their campaign to a standstill.

Since then, four consecutive defeats have killed all early season optimism, but Grayson hopes a win at the KCOM Stadium can get the club back on track.

“I’d like us to be a dominant team and winning lots of games at home because if we can get the Stadium of Light rocking and get more supporters through the turnstiles, they will really see what we are trying to do,” he added.

“So far the results haven’t gone for us, the performances a little bit, but now we go away and we have to do whatever is required to stop this run of results that we have had.

“We always said it would never be an easy ride. We said when we went five games undefeated at the start of the season that we wouldn’t get carried away, and at this moment we are disappointed but not despondent. There’s a long season ahead of us and let’s hope we can start winning matches home and away.”